


Soul Speaker

by EncOREO



Category: BLURRYFACE - Twenty One Pilots (Album), Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Cliche, Emotional Roadshow World Tour, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining, Reader Insert, Reader-Insert, Self Insert, Self-Insert, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ers, twenty one pilots - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-14 16:25:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10540182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EncOREO/pseuds/EncOREO
Summary: Starting at his shoulder, you very lightly trace your fingertips down his bicep, to the inside if his elbow, down the underside of his forearm and down to his wrist. Your fingertips feel that tingling sensation the whole way. “Is that what you mean?” you ask, looking up to his face. He is staring wide-eyed at his arm in disbelief. “Yes! What is that? That buzzing, tingling feeling? It’s like, uh, it’s like what tv static would feel like, I guess. And warm.”This is it. This is the moment he decides you’re a complete nut job and sends you away.“Ok, so my grandma used to tell us all the time when we were little that there are certain people whose souls know each other.  She used to say that those people can be soulmates, or have soulbonds, which are just people that you somehow knew in a past life like siblings, spouses, lovers, even friends or best friends from before. She said that when two souls recognize each other, they reach out, desperately trying to communicate to each other.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some things you should know before reading. This IS a reader insert fic, I just happen to give the character a ‘nickname’ with no use of her actual name because I don't care for the (Y/N) thing. Seeing that pulls me right out of a story every time, no matter how well written. You can just pretend that it’s a nickname given to you and continue on with the story as a reader insert, but I did try to avoid using the direct name and only use pronouns, nicknames, and terms of endearment as much as I could. 
> 
> It is NOT a soulmate AU. It does talk about soulmates and soulbonds, and the effects two souls have on each other, but I want this to be a real-life fic, and not an AU setting.
> 
> What started out as a dream I had a couple weeks ago has made its way into a Josh/You fanfic. Hope you enjoy reading it as much do writing it. I just hope I did it justice.

_‘Holy shit, that’s Tyler!’_ you think to yourself as you sit, shocked, at a covered outdoor patio table outside of Cold Stone Creamery.

You and your bestie have been looking forward to tonight for months, finally getting to see Twenty One Pilots together. You scored GA tickets and you were going to jump and sing and scream together; it was going to be epic! You woke up early and dressed in denim shorts, black sports bra with loose, cut off white tank, and converse. Not the most epic of concert attire, but hey, it’s cute, comfy, and cool since summers in Kansas City were not only hot but humid.  You pull your hair into a messy pony and head out. You both were too excited, leaving shortly after breakfast to just make a day of it together. She got great parking close to the venue, and since it was still pretty early, you two decided to explore downtown a bit, wasting some time before heading to the venue to line up for tonight’s show.

A few blocks away, you two spot the ice cream shop and immediately know it’s a good idea. It’s mid-July, and even though it’s still mid-morning, temps are already in the 90’s. You agree that if she goes inside to get the ice cream, you’ll grab the table. And that’s how you find yourself, currently staring across the street, mouth agape, at none other than Tyler freakin’ Joseph.

Before you even have a chance to think about it, you are on your feet, headed straight for Tyler. He isn’t with anyone that you can see, and you vaguely wonder how odd it is for him to be out by himself before you quickly dismiss the thought. I mean, let’s be real, your brain is pretty close to short-circuiting at the moment. You walk quickly, half jogging across the street to where he is. Your legs are shaking as you come close enough for him to finally look up at you.

“Umm, excuse me, Tyler?” He looks at you expectantly, albeit a bit wide-eyed. “Oh my god, hi! It’s so amazing to meet you! I’m going to be at your show tonight!” you quickly blurt out, adrenaline taking over.

“Yeah? That's sick!” he says with a small smile.

“Do you mind, can I take a selfie with you?” you ask, moving forward when he starts to nod.

You take the selfie and turn to thank him when he starts speaking first, “Hey, do you mind not posting that to any social media for a while, maybe, like, an hour or so? I just don’t want a lot of people to know where I am and get bombarded,” he states quietly. It’s just a simple request; not a huge deal at all.

Immediately you are mortified. How could you have done that? You bothered him on probably some of the only downtime he has. All this poor man wants is some quiet time to himself, and here you are, hounding him like the annoying fangirl you are. You feel awful for disturbing him, and tears are already welling up, threatening to spill when you look up and plead, “Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry!” You try to hold it back, but the tears betray you and start to fall.  He reaches up and starts to speak, but you keep going, “I didn’t mean to bother you, Tyler. I am soo sorry!” You turn and bolt back across the street to your table, Tyler’s hand left hanging in the air, words never getting to leave his mouth.

You sit back down, cross your arms over the table, and bury your head in your arms. You feel terrible. You want to just die. How could you do that? You’ve fantasized a million times what you would do if you ever met a celebrity, and it never went like what just happened. How could you have been so inconsiderate? You replay the events in your head over and over, as you continue to sob into your folded arms. You feel your bestie sit down beside you and you immediately start spilling. “Jillian, you’re not gonna believe this,” you start, finally lifting your head, wiping your eyes, “I just met- Josh?!” Your eyes finally focus back up and it’s totally not your bestie, but Josh that is sitting next to you. “Josh, what are you…”

“Hey,” he says, successfully stopping your sputtering. His fingers are nervously picking at the holes in the knees of his skinny jeans. “I heard what happened and I just wanted to come over and say that it’s alright. It was no big deal. Tyler feels awful.” You’re still just staring at him in disbelief so he keeps talking. “He wanted to come say something, but you know how he is, he’s already mega embarrassed and I didn’t mind coming to check on you.” He reaches over and places his hand in between your shoulder blades. His hand is incredibly warm. “You gonna be okay?” he asks.

What is it about the phrase ‘are you okay’ that suddenly makes everything so very not okay? Like when you were a kid and you’d fall down, you’d be fine until some well-meaning person came up and uttered those three evil words, and then all bets were off as the dam broke. This time is no different. You cover your face in your hands as a new wave of sobs and humiliation hits you.

“Hey, hey. Don’t do that. It’s okay,” he soothes. “Here,” you feel him grasp your upper arm and pull you to a standing position. You hear him gasp and quickly pull his hand away, which is what makes you look up at him, questioningly. You wipe your eyes and see him looking at your bare arm suspiciously.

“You okay?” you ask, growing concerned that he thinks you’re somehow weird or there’s something wrong with you.

“Uh, yeah, I’m good.” He still looks a bit confused. “ Hey, walk back to the venue with me? I need to get back, but I could use some company,” he says, turning his body, but keeping his gaze on you. You’re not sure if he genuinely wants the company or if he’s still just trying to make you feel better.

“Uh, sure. Let me just send my friend a text,” you answer. He readjusts his hat, turning it around backwards and pulls at his white tank while you send off a quick text.

“So,” he starts as you two start walking up the street towards the venue, “you’re coming to the show tonight?”

“Of course. We have GA tickets.”

“Oh right, your friend. She’s not going to be mad you left, is she?” His eyebrows lift up and his eyes search your face for reassurance. He seems genuinely concerned.

“Nah. She ran into a group of girls at Cold Stone that she works with that are going to be there tonight too. I’ll catch up with her later.” His eyes crinkle in a smile,  and he gives you a thumbs up.  

“So,” you continue, trying to keep the conversation going, “have you guys ever played at the Sprint Center before?”

“No. The last time we were in Kansas City we played at an outdoor place called Starlight. I’ll never forget it because a ladybug flew onto Tyler’s keyboard and he stopped the whole show for it.” He chuckled, reminiscing.

“Oh, that’s right!” you say, starting to giggle, “I remember watching videos about that on youtube and twitter. I don’t think you’ll have that problem tonight, though,” you say, glancing over at him and then back down to your shoes, still slightly embarrassed at having cried in front of him.

He shakes his head, grinning before continuing, “Yeah, probably not, since it’s inside and all. What about you? Have you ever been to the Sprint… WATCH OUT!” he shouts, before suddenly grabbing your arm and pushing you over to the side. You both scoot to the left quickly, his chest up against your arm now as he still clutches onto you. You whip your head around just in time to see a full grown golden labrador come barrelling, full-speed down the sidewalk. He obviously got away from his owner as he still had a collar and a leash on, leash flapping in the wind behind him as he runs at top speed. You lose it at that, bending over to full on belly laugh.  

“OH MAN! I wish I would’ve had snapchat up for that. Morgan would’ve DIED… what? What’s wrong?” He has taken a step back, but he’s still grasping your upper arm. His head is tilted and he’s got a look of confusion on his face, and he’s staring at your arm like it’s something he’s never seen before. “You okay, Josh?” you ask, really starting to wonder if something’s wrong.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just… what was I saying?” he says, shaking his head, “Oh yeah! Have you ever been to the Sprint Center?” He starts walking towards the venue again, waiting for you to follow. You’re only about a block away now.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been several times. I’ve seen Lady Gaga there twice, Timberlake, Monday night RAW, and then the last time I came here, I saw Justin Bieber.”

“Biebs!” he says with a huge, toothy smile and a thumbs up.

“Yeah, it was pretty cool. No one wanted to come with me though, so I went solo. Well, I ended up sitting front row, next to the show’s producer. He told me about how things worked, who was who, and how the show was run. The only thing I wish I could change was I wish I could have stayed and watched the stage crew tear down, but of course, security made me leave right after the show. Something about show production and the ins and outs of how it all works just fascinates me.”

You come to a crosswalk and there are only a few seconds left before the timer on the ‘walk’ sign runs out. You see him switch quickly from foot to foot, obviously fighting internally on if he should book it across, or just wait for the next light. Suddenly, he grabs your wrist and pulls, and you quickly jog across the street, trying to keep up with his long legs. Once on the other side of the street, he drops your wrist, blushing. You bring your wrist up to your chest, wrapping your fingers around and rubbing. Your wrist feels all tingly where he held it. ‘ _Come on, pull it together. Don’t start going all lame fangirl now_ ’ you think to yourself before catching his eye again. He’s still blushing.

  
“S-sorry about that,” he stutters. “Um,” he turns and points with his thumb over his shoulder, “I have to take the back way in,” he states and nods his head in that direction. He holds your gaze, eyebrows raised in question, silently asking you to follow. He waits until you start heading in that direction before finally joining you. You pass the gates and continue walking towards one of the back doors, noticing more and more security guards, and event staff in bright yellow shirts. Worried you’re going to get kicked out, you turn to ask if you’re allowed to be in this area, but he beats you to it. “You wanna come in and take a look around? I can show you the stage setup and production stuff before final checks,” he says hurriedly. “You said you liked that kind of thing.” He seems nervous. Why is he nervous all of a sudden?

“Uhh, sure. That’d actually be super cool. I just… am I allowed to be back here?” you ask, not wanting to get yourself, or worse, him, into trouble.

“Oh, right. Umm, don’t worry about it. I’ll have someone get you a badge (crew) pass. It’ll be ok.”

“Well I guess in that case, do you mind if I go by a restroom first? I should probably fix... this,” you gesture to your face, using your pointer finger to make a circular motion.  “It’s been a very emotional morning,” you say, smiling back up at him and sticking your tongue out, trying to make light of your earlier situation. Luckily, there’s a restroom just inside the doors, so you head there, promising to be out quickly.

Once inside you immediately go to the sink. Well, you don’t look terrible, at least. Your makeup held up quite well, thank you very much waterproof mascara and eyeliner! A quick touch up and you should be fine. That’s when it finally hits you… you just met Josh. AND Tyler. Tyler and Josh. Holy shit! You feel your heartbeat pick up and the tale-tale prickling of your skin with the simultaneous feeling of your skin catching on fire. Great. Now is NOT the time to be having a panic attack. Josh is waiting out in the hall for you! ‘ _Actually, now is the perfect time for a panic attack if you were gonna have one. You’re alone in the bathroom where he can’t see’,_ you think to yourself. Shit.

You take several deep breaths and wet a paper towel with cool water, placing it on the back of your neck. ‘ _You got this. You can do this. It’s just Josh. They’re just people. Just like regular people.’_ You keep repeating those phrases, trying to talk yourself down while you tidy up your makeup, tightening your ponytail and pulling at a few pieces of hair when done. You turn to the side, giving yourself a quick once-over. ‘ _Good enough,’_ you think as you exit the restroom to… nothing. You look left, then turn to face down the hall to the right. No one. Crap; now was going to be the time that the security guards came by and saw you, all alone with no pass, and escort you out of the building, possibly banning you from tonight’s event. Shit, shit, shit.  

“Hey, I got your -” he starts before you jump and yelp in surprise. You spin around, wide-eyed, and Josh is standing there, holding out a bright pink paper wristband and a lanyard with a card inside a plastic sleeve attached out to you.

“JOSH! Oh my gosh!” You reach out and grab his shoulder for support. He’s still super warm and your shaky hand starts to tingle again. Oh no. Not another wave of panic. “You scared the heck out of me, dude! I thought for sure I was gonna get kicked out of here by security or something.” He chuckles weakly, then looks at his shoulder.

“Okay, I’m sorry if this is weird, but I have to ask. What _IS_ that?” You remove your hand and look up at him questioningly, eyebrows knitted, not really sure what he’s asking. Thankfully, he keeps explaining.  “Do you feel that? I’ve been feeling it all day. Well, when my skin touches yours. Am I going crazy?” He tilts his head, “Are you some kind of secret superhero or something?” Gasping, he takes a sharp intake of breath, “Are you an alien?” he teases, raising his eyebrows up at you.

“Ha ha ha, I wish,” you say, bending your arm at the elbow and raising your hand, palm out, by your face. “Can I try something?” you ask, waiting for him to nod before you reach out. Starting at his shoulder, you very lightly trace your fingertips down his bicep, to the inside of his elbow, down the underside of his forearm and down to his wrist. Your fingertips feel that tingling sensation the whole way. “Is that what you mean?” you ask, looking up at his face. He is staring wide-eyed at his arm in disbelief.

“Yes! What is that? That buzzing, tingling feeling? It’s like, uh, it’s like what tv static would feel like, I guess. And warm.”

You laugh nervous laughter, look up to him and shake your head. “Okay, you are going to think I am totally nuts.” You take a deep breath, blowing it out as you look down to your shoes. You glance back up as you start to speak, “Ok, so my grandma used to tell us all the time when we were little that there are certain people whose souls know each other.” You stop, only for a second to judge his reaction and make sure he’s not going to make you leave, suddenly deciding that you’re some type of crazy person. He remains still, eyes focused, hanging on your every word, so you continue.

“She used to say that those people can be soulmates, or have soul bonds, which are just people that you somehow knew in a past life like siblings, spouses, lovers, even friends or best friends from before. She said that when two souls recognize each other, they reach out, desperately trying to communicate to each other, and that’s what that warm, tingly, buzzing feeling is. She said it feels like static just under the surface of the skin, like an electric charge.”

“Yes!” He stands up straight, throwing his arms out to the sides. “That’s exactly what it feels like!” he enthuses, bringing his hands up to the top of his head before spinning in a quick circle. This is it. This is the moment he decides you’re a complete nut job and sends you away. That’s why you’re completely shocked when he shouts, “Holy crap, this is amazing!” before reaching out and pulling you into a quick, tight hug by your shoulders. It's sudden and your arms are pinned down to your sides so you can’t hug back, but there’s no mistaking it now. The buzzing is there. You can’t believe it. Not only does he not think you’re nuts, but he actually seems excited. And holy crap, your grandma was telling the truth this whole time.

The hug only lasts a quick, few seconds before he lets go, backing up to look at you with an expression that says ‘Can you believe it?!’ written all over it.  You huff out a laugh and continue explaining. “Well, my grandma used to tell us all kinds of things when we were little. She even used to tell us about how she had the ability to feel other people’s emotions and mental state as her own. I always thought she was full of it, or just making up fun stories for us kids, you know, but I guess she was telling the truth on this one.”

He huffs a laugh and says, “Yeah, my grandpa used to say all kinds of crazy things too, like ‘Never roll a tire down a hill if there’s a cow behind you wearing rubber boots,’ and look how true that turned out to be.” He smiles down at you and you shoot a grin back before adding, “Smart man.”

Mark comes around the corner, walking quickly and carrying a clipboard, walkie-talkie attached to his belt. “Josh! Hey man, just wanted to let you know we switched the earpieces in your inner ear sound pack, and it should be working fine now, but you can double check it at final checks. And catering just showed up with lunch if you’re hungry. It’s Kansas City’s famous Gates BBQ; smells frickin’ amazing bro.”

Josh turns to you and asks, “You live here so you’re the pro, is Gates pretty good?”

You look at him and then over to Mark, “Uh, actually, with all my years living here, I’ve never actually tried it.”

Josh fakes shock and gasps dramatically. “Blasphemy! You should come have some with us. We can try it together.”

“Uhh, sure, if that’ll be okay with everyone, I don’t wanna get in the way,” you say, quickly glancing at Mark, not wanting to cramp anyone’s style. You already feel like you’re imposing a bit just being there now.

“Nah, any friend of Josh’s is a friend of ours. I’m Mark, by the way,” he says, holding his hand out to you to shake. You grasp it firmly and shake once. “Kitty. Nice to meet you.” “Ooooh! Girl’s got a good grip! I like you already,” he says with a smile and a wink.

“Your name is Kitty? That’s so awesome! I love cats.” Josh is teasing and you know it, but you explain anyway, “Actually, Kitty’s just a nickname. I got it cause I used to wear a cat-eared headband all the time, like, everywhere, so everyone started calling me Kitty.  The name kinda stuck, and now that’s what everyone knows me by.

“Alright, guys, I’m out. Couple more things to do before I can stop for lunch and I’m starving! Catch you later, dudes!” He throws a peace sign over his shoulder and continues down the hall in the opposite direction, disappearing around the corner.

“I believe I still owe you a stage tour,” Josh says, holding his arm out to escort you. You loop your arm through his and walk together down a few short hallways. He doesn’t pull away from the tingling this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of what happens in this fic is actual events that have happened to me in my real life. If you wanna know what those are, I am more than willing to tell, but just a couple examples are the whole Bieber concert thing (that actually happened), and the overall plot point, the soulmate/soulbond tingly/heat thing… I actually have that with a close friend of mine.


	2. Chapter 2

You reach a long hallway and come to a stop in front of a door that has a red paper sign and the name ‘Spooky’ written on it. “See?” you say, pointing up at the sign, “You have a pretty cool nickname too.”

He grins down at you, “Yeah, I guess I do.”

He opens the door and there’s a little bit of a walkway before a set of black metal stairs... metal stairs that lead to the stage. The stage! Holy shit! He walks in front of you towards the stairs, turning around before he climbs and says, “You ready?” He’s smiling widely, clearly excited to show you. He climbs up and you follow, stopping to take in a deep breath before you take the final step that will put you onto the stage. How in the world did this happen? Is today even real? You don’t have time to think about that. He’s standing in the middle of the stage with his arms out. “Well, what do you think?” You take the last step up and are speechless.

You walk to the very front, center of the stage, all the way to the edge and look out into the empty arena. It’s huge! It may not look like much when you’re in the crowd looking at the stage, but when you’re on the stage looking out, it’s immense and very intimidating. You hold your arms out to your sides and tip your head back, closing your eyes, imagining the deafening roar of a crowd. It’s definitely a rush, but still frightening. Josh moves over by a mic stand, watching you take it all in.

You lower your arms and turn, walking the short distance over to him. “This is crazy! How do you keep from just throwing up all over the place?”

“Well, sometimes it’s a struggle, believe me. But luckily I have my drums,” he holds out his arm, gesturing to his kit. “I can just get behind there and bang out the nervousness.”

You gasp, suddenly very excited. “Oh man, your drums! Do you mind if I...” you pause and point with your thumb over your shoulder, “can I go see them?”

“Heck yeah you can. I love to show off my drums!”

You both walk together over near the front of his set. It sits up on a raised platform, microphones placed strategically around it with red mic cables running to and from it, some wrapped around cymbal stands. You’re within touching distance when you stop and say, “Oh man, I can't believe I’m actually about to meet your wife.” You turn to the drums and curtsey, bowing your head and saying ‘Ma’am’ to his set. He raises his eyebrows in surprise before bursting out laughing. “Hey, gotta pay respect to the missus,” you say, joining in on the laughter.

“Hey, do you mind taking my picture in front of her? Would that be okay?”

“Oh heck yeah,” he replies and you double press the button on your phone to pull up the camera and hand it to him. You walk over and sit on the edge of the platform, situating yourself for a pose when he comes and sits next to you. He squeezes in, right side completely pressed to your left, hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder before turning to you, saying, “Selfie?”

“Even better,” you reply.

He takes one of you both smiling and facing the camera, drums in the background, and then he says, “One more for safety?” holding the phone back out at arm's length. This time instead of facing the camera, he drops his forehead to your shoulder and places his free hand on your knee. It’s all you can do to keep your cool for the picture. You feel the buzzing in your shoulder intensify as he grins. Your heart is racing, and you have about half a second to decide what to do with your face before it’s forever captured in a photo. You quickly decide on turning your head outward and looking up and off to the side would not only make a cute picture but would be the perfect cover up for the mix of emotions you’re feeling. And if when he hands you your phone back, the picture doesn’t turn out to be the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, well then you’re lying to yourself.

“Heyyy, there you are.” Tyler’s voice is coming from the other side of the stage. It’s soft and gentle, almost like he was trying not to intrude. He stops near his guitar stand and picks up his ukulele, not playing anything but just plucking at random strings to give himself something to do.

Josh doesn’t lift his head right away, so you are certain that Tyler saw him leaning his head on you. You’re not ashamed or embarrassed but maybe caught off guard. Josh slowly lifts his head, but he tilts his chin up as he does so, and his lips accidentally graze your shoulder. The immediate increase in buzzing as his lips graze you has you both looking at each other with matching shocked expressions.  

“Don’t be afraid. I promise I’m not as big of an a-hole as I seemed earlier,” Tyler says, giving you the puppy dog face as he places his ukulele back on its stand and walks towards you and Josh. What? What’s he talking about ‘don’t be afraid’? Oh no… you realize now that he must’ve misinterpreted your shocked expression as fear of him being there after what happened between you two earlier that morning. You quickly stand, taking a few steps toward him to meet him center stage and open your mouth to explain, but this time, it’s him that beats you to speaking first.

“Look, I just want to say that it’s not a big deal. I’m sorry if I freaked you out. I feel like such a jerk.” His hand moves to rub at the back of his neck.

“No, it’s fine, it was totally my fault,” you explain. “I was already overly excited at seeing you, but then I felt super bad for bothering you during possibly some of your only downtime when you probably just wanted to be left alone. Nothing you said was mean or unreasonable. I just got overwhelmed. I still feel kinda bad about it, actually. I’m sorry, Tyler,” you finish, looking down and planting your toe on the floor, twisting your foot back and forth.

“Hey,” he steps forward and is now right in front of you, leaning his head down to look you eye to eye, “no worries, okay? Let’s start over. Hi, I’m Tyler,” he smiles and holds his hand out to you. You grab it firmly and shake.

“Kitty.”

He nods and says, “Hello, Kitty.” You wait for the inevitable joke, but it never comes. “Nice to meet you. Excellent grip. Josh-” On the final word, he claps you on the shoulder, and looks past you to his best friend. What he finds is Josh standing there, just staring at you, goofy grin on his face, slow blinks and all. Tyler just snickers to himself before trying again. “Josh! Dude! You ready for lunch, man? I’m starved.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah man, food time! Let’s do it,” he says, turning just a slight shade of pink. Tyler knows him better than anyone else on the planet, and Josh knows he was just caught.

You both start to follow Tyler off his side of the stage. He’s still walking when he says, “Kitty, you’re gonna join us, right?” It’s a legitimate question, and it actually sounds like he’s inviting you.  You’re still caught off guard, though, and you look over at Josh. He nods his head at you.  

“Umm, yes, if that’s okay?” You’re still worried that you're imposing on them.

“Sick.” Guess you shouldn’t worry.

You spend the rest of the afternoon just hanging out in the rec room/dining hall. It’s nothing but a large room with several round tables, set up much like it would be for a gathering like a prom, or wedding. They had the food set up on 2-3 rectangular tables, different types of BBQ and sides laid out side by side over burners. There’s also a table of sweets, sodas, and bottled water. You meet a few of the other crew members as they come in for lunch before leaving again. You and Tyler actually get into a really deep conversation about empathy and empaths.

Josh, of course, sits next to you at the table, joining in on the conversations here and there, but as the afternoon goes on, he scoots closer and closer. He’ll either stand up for more food, get something to drink, run to the restroom, whatever, but each time he comes back, he makes sure his chair is just that much closer to yours. Tyler catches on but doesn’t say anything. Well, doesn’t say anything until Josh’s chair is up against yours with no more room to scoot.

“Sorry about Josh here. He likes to sit close, don’t you Jishwa?” Tyler is full on teasing now.

“I, uh, sorry,” Josh says bashfully. He’s embarrassed but makes no attempt to move over.

“Did you see my vine that one time that he and I were sitting on a couch, and he had the whole couch to sit, but he chose to sit right next to me anyway?”

“Sorry. I’m a cuddler. I guess I just crave touch, what can I say?” He’s playing it off, but you know that he’s just looking for an excuse to test out the tingly feeling. Well, two can play that game.

“Well, why didn’t you say so sooner? I love cuddles. I would’ve cuddled you,” you tease, and the look on Josh’s face is priceless. He starts to sputter a response and you look across the table at Tyler and smirk. He just holds his hands up in mock surrender.

One of the double doors opens and Mark comes back in. “Guys, we have about 1 hour for final checks before doors. Be on stage in five?” he asks, nodding to each of them before turning and leaving again. 

You all stand to head back to the stage, but Josh catches you and leans in to your ear. He’s not touching you, but you can feel the static. “Raincheck?” he murmurs, low and soft. You can feel his breath on your ear and your stomach flips. He pulls back and his nose is just centimeters from yours. His deep cinnamon eyes stare into yours, flicking back and forth between left and right.  All you can do is nod your agreement, not trusting your voice at this moment. He seems to like your answer because he’s smiling big enough to make his eyes squint as he leans in and flicks the tip of your nose with his. Holy shit! Your stomach drops like you’re in an elevator before doing another flip. You swallow hard. He straightens back up and waits for you to push in your chair before heading for the door.

Okay, he wins this round.

***

You follow them back out to the stage area, but this time, instead of going up, you walk around the front of the stage and take your spot at the barricade, right in the very center. You watch, fascinated as they run through a few things, making sure everything is set up to their liking and working properly. They test all the lights and strobes, all the big screens with various scenes from throughout the show, test the sound systems, including Josh’s new inner earpiece, and even test-fire small bursts on the cryo jets and handheld cannons.

They’re still running thru some of the lighting sequences when Mark announces that it is five minutes until doors. Tyler and Josh wrap up what they were doing before exiting the stage, but instead of exiting stage right, Josh comes to the front of the stage and hops down, walking up to you. You take a small step back and he leans onto his folded arms on the barricade.

“Can I ask you a big favor?” he asks, seeming nervous again.

“Of course you can. After today, and letting me see your stage and watch your sound check, I kinda owe you.” He chuckles and looks down briefly before back up at you, sheepishly.

“Will you stay after the show’s over?” He’s clearly nervous and he reaches up to smooth his hair down.  “I just… I wanted to talk to you some more, and I can even show you the buses if you want.”

Normally you would make some kind of innuendo joke right about now, but Josh looks so sincere and vulnerable that all thoughts like that fly right out of your head. His innocence is overwhelming, and of course you’re gonna stay after if he wants you to.

“Of course! Like you even have to ask,” you say and he stands up straight.

“Sweet! Okay, cool,” he says and holds his arms out. “Hug for luck?” he says with a pout, head tilted to the side. You don’t even say anything, just step forward and let him embrace you, him hooking his chin over your shoulder. You squeeze back tightly, just letting the buzzing and warmth run thru you, feeling the intensity pick up slightly. When you pull back, he’s smiling goofily and you’re certain he felt it too.

“Okay, I’ll see you later. Good luck!” you shout to him as he jogs towards the side curtains.  You tuck your pass into your shirt, and just before he disappears behind the curtains, he turns back to you, winks, blushes, and then disappears. You totally die.

The show is, of course, amazing. The crowd gives off amazing energy and is so supportive of the boys.  Everyone’s jumping, screaming, singing, and you don’t think it’s your imagination that you keep catching Josh looking down at you, smiling each time you catch him. When he climbs down and into the crowd to do his drum solo for Ride, he does his normal thing where he plays up the crowd and poses... he knows he’s cute, and it shows. But just before he sits to start playing, he glances over at you, winks, bites his lip, then sits and plays. The crowd screams, not knowing it was directed at you. That little… he knows exactly what he’s doing and there’s nothing you can do besides stand there with your mouth open.

They play Trees and exit. You stand there for a few extra minutes just reveling in the confetti, the fans, and the atmosphere of it all. One of your favorite things about concerts is the energy of the crowd, so you take time to enjoy every second you can. People start to file out and you stay still, just watching as friends embrace, people helping other fans take selfies, and watching as people talk excitedly as they exit up the stairs. Eventually, you bend down to grab some confetti to keep as a souvenir, when you are approached by a member of security.

“Excuse me, Miss? Are you Kitty?” 

“I am,” you say as you shove a couple handfuls of confetti in your purse.

“Alright, if you wouldn’t mind letting me check your pass real quick? You are being requested backstage.” You pull out your lanyard and show him, and he escorts you to the side of the stage and behind the black curtain.

Josh is there just a little way down the hall. He has his back to you and is talking excitedly to Tyler, and he has strips of red confetti stuck all over his back and chest. You chuckle a bit at that when Tyler spots you, pointing over Josh's shoulder and nodding in your direction. He turns around for a second and gives you a wide smile and waves. He turns back to Tyler, says something and then they part ways. Josh turns and speed walks up to you, immediately snatching you up into a bear hug, and spinning around in a circle.

“Ooh, good job, Josh! You guys were amazing!” you say into his shoulder as he’s spinning. GOD, he’s so warm! He sets you down and you notice him shiver, his eyes falling shut for just a split second. When he opens his eyes back up, there’s a spark behind them that you can’t place.  

“Do you feel that too? It feels stronger.” He moves toward you and looks like he wants to take your hands, but stops at the last second. Darn his bashfulness!

“Yeah, it _does_ feel stronger. If I had to guess, it’s because your emotions are a bit heightened at the moment, you still have a lot of adrenaline, and,” you stop to look at the floor, “and you’re kind of not wearing a shirt.” He looks down and wipes off a few strips of confetti.

“Oh yeah. Right. Umm,” he stops and rubs the back of his neck, “so bus call is in about two hours. Would you mind waiting while I take a quick shower, and then I can show you the busses?” He glances up, catching your eyes with his and suddenly you have butterflies in your stomach,  “And… and maybe we can talk some more?” He says that last little bit in a quiet rush. He’s blushing again and you can’t stop the flip your stomach does at the thought of him blushing because of you.

“Yeah, absolutely. No problem.”  And bless his heart, he looks relieved, as if you would actually say no. He leads you into one of the talent dressing rooms, again marked with a red paper that says ‘Spooky’. It looks much like a hotel room, just instead of a bed and dressers, it’s a sitting area with couches and a coffee table. You go to one of the couches and flop down.

“I promise this won’t take long,” he assures you as he crosses over to his personal trunk marked with ‘JOSH’ in big, white letters. He grabs out some clothes and heads over the bathroom. You sit and start looking through all the pictures you had taken of the show. It really was one of the best shows you have ever seen. You continue to scroll and suddenly the picture of you two in front of his drum set comes across the screen. You’re looking away and his forehead is on your shoulder, and… is he… he’s blushing. The little, open mouth smile he has looks so happy, and your stomach does another flip. Nahh. That can’t happen, could it? You guys just met this morning. Although the possible, okay definite, soulbond thing might have something to do with it, but could he have a crush on you?

‘ _Nah, that’s dumb_ ’, you think, but not before setting that photo as your wallpaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love that their ship name would be Kooky. Kitty+Spooky. (Adjective. Strange or eccentric). The other option would Spitty, and we’re just...no. I’m not doing that to them.
> 
> Ch 3 is when the fluff REALLY starts to pick up!


	3. Chapter 3

He comes out of the shower no more than 7 minutes later. He’s smiling widely, clearly proud of himself, “See, I told you that wouldn’t take long.”

“I never had any doubt. You feel better?” you ask as he crosses in front of you over to his trunk. God, he smells good. It’s that unmistakable sandalwood and just, man-smell that just smells so... _‘Keep it together’_ , you think to yourself and school your facial expression, hoping he didn’t notice your exaggerated inhale.

“You have no idea. I probably sweat out at least a pound of sweat and grime during each show,” he says as he crosses to different parts of the room, throwing his belongings into a backpack. He grabs his cell phone, shoving it into his pants pocket and comes to stand in front of you.

“Ready to go see our super cool bus?” He’s teasing, but you stand and smile back anyway.  

“Duh,” you tease back, “I’ve only been looking forward to it all day.” Throwing his backpack over his shoulders, he sweeps his hand, palm up, across and in front of you, motioning toward the door. “Well, after you, Madam.” You grin and roll your eyes, and head to the door, Josh right behind you. He clicks off the light just as you're exiting the door, but then he reaches out and grabs your arm, effectively stopping you. You turn, looking up at him in question.

His facial expression is notably serious, and he talks in a very hushed tone. “Seriously, I just wanted to say thank you for waiting tonight. It really means a lot that you would stick around to talk with me some more.” He reaches up and cups your face with his hand. Your eyes flutter closed as you feel the warm heat from his palm.  His thumb starts to rub across your cheekbone and you softly gasp, feeling the soothing buzzing coming from where he touches you. You open your eyes and look up at him to see him staring right back at you. His eyes are deep and full of hidden meaning. The spark you saw earlier is still in there, dancing playfully behind his gaze. Your stomach flips and you’re suddenly nervous, not sure how to react to such an intimate moment.

“O-of course;” you stutter out, “you are worth the wait.” _Oh my god, lame. Laaaaaaame! Why did you say that?!_ You mentally kick yourself. Josh must not think it was so bad. He drops his hand from your face and hooks his thumbs under the straps of his backpack. He’s smiling and looking down at his feet, but his cheeks are flushed, beet red.  He glances back up at you, catches your eyes for just a second before dropping his gaze back down. He’s bashful and it is the cutest freakin’ thing you have ever seen.

“Thanks,” he whispers so low that if you hadn’t been looking directly at him, you wouldn’t have heard it. You take pity on him and finally link your arm through his, pulling him to the hallway and letting him direct you the rest of the way.

***

By the time you get down to the buses, there’s only about an hour and a half or so until they’re scheduled to leave. He punches in the code and opens the door, stepping up into the bus before turning around and offering his hand to pull you up. You immediately walk into the larger of the sitting areas. Both sides have longer, cream colored leather couches along the walls with a long coffee table in the middle. Each side has two large windows above the couches.

“Well, this is it,” he gestures toward the sitting area. “This is where me and Ty spend most of our time while we’re traveling.” He points up to the tv, where there’s an entertainment center of sorts built into the wall. You can see a satellite receiver, dvd player, and several game systems.  “Most times we just watch junk tv or play video games. Or youtube. Youtube is a good time killer.” You nod in agreement and wait for him to continue.

Behind the larger sitting area is a smaller love seat across from a restaurant booth style table and chairs that match the couches and coffee table in the sitting area. “Sometimes we sit here and eat, but mostly it ends up being just a catch-all table and we eat up the on the couches.”

He takes a few more steps toward the back of the bus, “This is our kitchen area. We usually have the fridge stocked with all the snacks you could want. It really is like the fridge of a 6-year old.” Just to prove his point, he opens up the fridge and pulls out pickles and a YooHoo, laughing, one in each hand.

After the kitchen area is a sliding type door. He pushes a button on the wall that unlocks the door and slides it to the left.

“Back here are the bunks.” He points to his upper right, “This is Mark, and this is Michael,” he adds, pointing to the bottom bunk. “Then down here is me on top and Tyler down here. Then on the other side is Ben and John.” He takes a few more steps back, “This is the bathroom, and back in the very back is the shower and sink area. Glamorous, right?”

“Oh totally. Much better than what I drive,” you tease, and both of you laugh as you make your way back to the front of the bus.

Other people have started to file in, sitting in the larger sitting area and turning on the TV for some sort of gaming marathon, so you and Josh move to sit in the smaller area behind. There’s stuff piled all over the little love seat, so you move to sit on the floor in front of the couch, your back towards the back of the bus and legs crisscrossed. You totally don’t mind sitting on the floor and you’re not going to be on the bus that long anyhow. It actually almost makes it more fun. Josh follows your lead and sits directly across from you, mirroring your position with his back towards the door and sitting area, knees close to yours, but not quite touching.

“You guys care if we kill these overhead lights? Huge glare on the tv,” one of the guys says, and Josh answers back, “Nah, go ahead.” One of them flicks a light switch up front and the big overhead lights slowly fade out, leaving the smaller, fainter, edge lighting on. It’s not quite dark, but definitely dim.

“So, what did you wanna talk about,” you ask, shrugging your shoulders.

“Umm, well, I wanted to talk a bit more about the soul thing, if that’s ok,” he asks, nervously picking at random strings on his pants, a nervous habit you’ve noticed he has.

“Oh yeah, totally. As long as you don’t think I’m completely nuts by the end of the night,” you say, looking up at him with an accusatory expression.  

“I could never,” he answers, faking a shocked expression and placing his hand on his chest.  

“Okay, well, we already talked about the tingly/buzzing sensation so there’s that. The other stuff my grandma used to say was that these people could have some sort of connection to each other, emotional or otherwise, where they could tell what the other person was feeling or if the other person was in trouble or very upset.”

You stop to look up at him just in time to see his eyes go wide. “Right?! Crazy isn’t it?! She also said that the stronger the bond between them, the further away that connection could reach. So the two people could be in separate parts of the city, or even in different states, and still get ‘gut feelings’ about each other,” you finish, making air quotes when you say ‘gut feelings’.

“Wow, that is all so cool! So what kind of things will strengthen a bon- ” he cuts off suddenly and you look as the bus doors open and Mark climbs up onto the stairs of the bus. He looks at the sitting area and appears to be counting heads, then looks left at you and Josh.

He stops his counting and addresses you, “Yo! So are you going to be coming along to the next city with us?”

“Uh, where’s the next city?”

“St. Louis, Mo.” St. Louis is only 4 hours away. You could ride with tonight, and then rent a car and drive back tomorrow.

You look at Josh and he looks back at you with a pleading expression on his face and mouths ‘Pleeeeaase’, somehow managing a full pout as well. You look back to Mark for a second before nodding yes. Josh smiles wide, squinty eyes and everything, punching the air as Mark pulls a walkie talkie from his hip, saying into it that bus #1 will have a +1 to the next city.

Mark boards the bus and says into the walkie that they’re ready for departure. He has time to walk over to the couch and sit before the bus is jolting forward as it pulls away and onto the road. The bus lights are dimmed even further as the bus passes over the 15 mph mark. It reminds you of being in a movie theater and how the lights dim during the previews and then dim super low when the actual movie starts. A couple of quick turns later and you’re shooting down the interstate towards St. Louis.

“I want to try something,” you say to Josh as you lift your hands out in front of you, palms toward him. “Put your hands just like mine, and very near mine, but not quite touching.” He does so, putting his hands less than an inch from yours, so you continue, “Okay, now close your eyes.” You close yours too.  “Can you feel that? Can you feel the tingly static and heat channels passing between us?” It feels fuzzy, just like static under your skin, and it’s passing in waves between your palms.

He smiles and giggles, “Yes! Omg, this is so crazy. So cool!”

You smile and continue to explain, “That’s our souls, Josh. They’re seeking out one another, trying to communicate. Desperately reaching out for each other.”

Leaving his hands where they are and keeping his eyes shut, he leans forward, taking in a breath as he moves and stopping with his lips just an inch or so from yours. You can feel the slight buzzing in your lips already, and your lips aren’t even touching.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispers.  You feel his breath across your lips as he asks.

“Josh," you whisper back, “the skin on the lips is some of the thinnest skin on the body, and thus, the tingling will be more pronounced there. Can you feel it?” you ask. He still hasn’t moved.

“I can. I can feel it so much. Please, can I kiss you?” he asks again, sounding more needy this time.

Taking in a breath, you sigh as you continue, “Josh, kisses are sacred,” you explain. “It’s one of the small bonding acts between the two souls that are reaching out to each other. And once the act is completed, those two souls will never stop searching for each other until they can be together. Perhaps we should wait.”

Suddenly he interlaces his fingers with yours, and the buzzing increases severely, causing you both to jolt slightly.

He whines a bit as he pleads once more, “Please,” he whispers, sounding completely desperate.

You take a moment before you finally lean forward, and very lightly press your lips to his, feeling the buzzing pick up immediately. It’s intense and causes your whole body to suddenly tingle slightly. All at once your blood feels like it's on fire, and your chest feels full like it’ll surely explode. He gasps and leans forward, whimpering as he presses into the kiss harder and places his hands on the sides of your face.

“Oh wow, look at that, fireworks,” someone says behind you. You’re driving by the stadiums and someone must’ve won a game because there are tons of fireworks going off outside the windows. You break the kiss and giggle, leaning forward to whisper into his ear, “Literal fireworks.”  He laughs, opening his eyes. You lean forward and place your forehead onto his, looking into his eyes. You swear you can see his soul lighting up.

“Are you two going to join us, or are you going to keep staring at each other all night?” He stands and throws an apology to them, holding out his hand to help you up. You take his hand, feeling the static more intensely now. He pulls you to your feet, but he doesn’t let go. He continues to hold your hand, even as you sit on the couch together, him sitting right next to you again, hip to hip, and shoulder to shoulder.

You both talk and joke a bit with the guys, but eventually, people start excusing themselves to go to bed. It is getting pretty late. He pulls out his phone and earbuds, handing you one. You both put them into the ear closest to each other and listen to the music together, him commenting on a certain song or skipping over songs every now and then. Blink’s song ‘The Rock Show’ comes on and you can’t hold in your giggles. He just giggles back and runs his thumb over your knuckles. He doesn’t skip that one.

Soon he has his head leaned on your shoulder and you can tell that he’s asleep. You pull out the earbuds from both your ears, then, running your fingers through his hair and sending a slight zing through his scalp, you wake him. He sighs and pushes into the contact.  
  
“Should you go to bed? I’m more than happy to curl up here on the couch if you need to go to your bunk and get some rest. You _did_ do a show tonight _and_ have another show tomorrow. I'd understand”

“Noooo. No, no, no, no, no. Wanna stay here with you,” he slurs, scooting down a bit more, lying on his side so he can wrap his arms around your waist and lay his head on your stomach. You just let it go and scoot your hips forward towards the edge of the couch as much as you can and lean back, laying your head on the back cushion of the couch.

You close your eyes and continue to run your fingers thru his hair, fingernails lightly scratching his scalp. He sighs happily and is asleep again in less than 2 minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see the inspirations for the tour buses, their tour bus layout, and what some of the actual rooms of the sprint center look like, click these links:  
> [ talent dressing rooms](http://imgur.com/HOoSEv8) 
> 
>  
> 
> [ dining hall](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2932973820_c60f866017_b.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
> [the venue 'Sprint Center'](http://populous.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SprintCenter-KansasCity-ExteriorNight.jpeg)
> 
>  
> 
> [ their tour bus (I actually designed it)](http://imgur.com/Es4PBLb)
> 
>  
> 
> [ tour bus interior color and type](http://imgur.com/7yhe7wz)
> 
>  
> 
> [ corner entertainment center set up](http://imgur.com/wruRiA8)


	4. Chapter 4

It’s Mark that wakes everyone up at 7 am, opening the bus door and announcing that they have arrived at the next venue and that sound checks will be after lunch, so in about 6 hours.  It’s only been a short, four-hour bus ride from Kansas City to St. Louis, which you only slept about two of, but you feel energized and happy.

Most of the people on the bus choose to go back to bed and sleep a few more hours, but Josh has other plans. He hums as he hugs your waist before sitting up. “Good morning.” His colored hair is sticking up in all different directions, and he runs his hands back and forth through it, causing it to fluff out even more. You already miss his warmth. “Did you sleep well?”

“I caught a couple of hours. You are very warm and cozy,” you say as you sit up and stretch, pulling your feet under your legs, crisscrossed. He smiles and leans to the side, putting his arm around your waist, laying his forehead on your shoulder and closing his eyes.  
  
“Well, as much as I would love to stay here and cuddle some more, I have some things I’d like to show you if that’s alright.” He lifts his head and places a small kiss to your shoulder. It sends a rush of static through your body and you shiver.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, yesterday you didn’t get to see set up, only the completed stage and sound checks. I thought that since you’re here early this time, you’d like to go watch set up.”

“Oh my god, yes! That would be so cool! I’ve always wanted to see a stage set up.” You’re excited and his eyes light up at seeing you so happy.

“Awesome, it’s a date.” His eyes go wide and he looks panicked once he realizes what he said. “Umm, I mean…”

“No, it’s ok. It’s a date,” you say, winking at him. What starts as a shy smile fades into a full, million-watt smile.

“Awesome. But first,” he walks over to the kitchen area where his french press sits, “coffee. I need it.” He makes two cups and hands you one. “Here you go. Fresh dirt water.”

“Dirt water?”

“Yeah, Tyler always calls it dirt water. Which, he’s not really wrong. It kinda, is what it is,” he says, shrugging.

“Gotcha. And yeah, the french press is probably the second coolest invention the french have come up with, next to the kiss,” you say teasingly.

“Yeah, that’s probably one of the coolest ones that I… I haven’t tried yet, but, um, if it’s anything as cool as this, I’m probably gonna like it.” He looks at you with a pouty lip. “One of these days I will, I will try... that.” He leans over his cup and inhales deeply, then takes a small sip, tilting his head, lifting his eyebrows in approval. “Probably not as good as a french kiss, but it’s pretty good,” he says, grinning.

“Oh, stop,” you say, playfully shoving at his chest.

He laughs and grabs his gray beanie, throwing it over his colored hair before you exit the bus, heading toward the venue.

***

Making sure you have your badge pass out and around your neck, you and Josh make your way into the arena of the venue. Immediately you hear the sound of people banging on metal and indistinct shouting. There’s lots of back-up beeping and several small forklifts zooming around. There’s a semi truck backed up to where they have the skeleton of the stage floor already assembled, and have moved on to laying down the floor panels.

Taking you by the hand, he leads you up to some of the closer seats so you can watch. You take your seat just in time to watch them hook up chain hoists to a line array system and begin to lift and secure it to the overhead beams.  “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” he says, reaching over to take your hand again, but keeping his eyes on the crew. He rubs his thumb back and forth across your knuckles. The low buzzing has become soothing.

“Yeah, this is amazing! So much work goes into a show that you never even get to see! How long does setup usually take them?”

“I don’t know, actually. I think they usually get started around 6 am and can be finished by lunch time. Sometimes, though, if we’re having technical difficulties, it can take until way after lunch and bleed into sound checks. Thankfully that doesn’t happen very often,” he turns his head and smiles genuinely at you, totally content.

You nod and continue to watch the crew as they start to assemble the two, large LED screens that go on each side of the stage. They build it from the top down, fitting the top panels to the panels below with pegs inserted into matching holes, then locking them into place from behind and lifting to begin attaching the next row. “Man, I wonder how much all of this stuff costs,” you say, still fascinated by it all.

He huffs out a laugh, tilting his head back. “You don’t even wanna know. I kinda don’t either, but I’ve heard rumors of anywhere from a couple hundred thousand up to over a million.” Your mouth drops open and you stare at him, eyes wide, in shock. “Thank God for record companies that pay the bills, right?”

“Oh my god, that’s so much money!! How do you even get all of this from place to place anyway?”

“Well, for our rigging, stage set, lighting, video, audio, and gear, we have about 12 semi trucks that haul our stuff from one show to the next.”

“Holy… that’s so much...” Suddenly your stomach growls. Loudly. You both look down at your stomach, then back up at each other before bursting out laughing. He covers his face with his hands when he laughs even harder, bringing his knees up and rocking back and forth. When he drops his hands, he’s looking at you with a joyful expression, and he has his tongue sticking out a bit between his teeth. It’s the cutest fricking thing you’ve ever seen.

You stand, throwing the strap of your purse over your head to cross your chest. “Well, looks like I need to eat something before I head back home, huh?” His face falls. Every semblance of laughter is gone. His eyebrows pinch together, and overwhelming sadness sits in his eyes.

“H-home?” He stands too. “Before the show?” He’s looking directly in your eyes and you see such sorrow, as clearly as if he were speaking his thoughts and emotions aloud. He’s so heartbroken that you almost can’t stand to answer.

“Yeah. I figure if I need to drive four hours, I’ll need to leave when you start soundchecks. If I left after the show, I wouldn’t be home until around 4 or 5 am.” You hate the words even as they leave your mouth. Your stomach twists and you kinda want to puke.

He looks down at the ground, defeated. He keeps his face hidden as he lifts one hand, swiping at his eye with the back of his hand. Is he crying? Oh no.

“Stay.”

You almost don’t hear it, barely even above a whisper. Maybe it wasn’t even spoken aloud. It was so quiet but so desperate, it makes your heart clench. Your voice is low as you answer back, “What?”

He keeps his head hung low, but reaches out and grasps your hands, thumbs running across the backs of your hands. So warm.

“Stay.” He says again, just as softly. He lifts his head and his eyes are misty. Yep, he was definitely wiping a tear. Shit. “Stay with me. Please.” He’s looking you right in the eyes, his own pleading with you. “We don’t have a show tomorrow, only travel, which makes tonight a hotel night. You could drive back tomorrow morning after we leave. Will you please stay with me tonight? Please?”

You sigh heavily, resolved, and simply pull him to you by his hands, sliding your arms under his and wrapping your arms around him. You turn your head and lay your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. You feel his hands begin to slowly rub up and down your back.

“Of course, Josh. Of course I’ll stay.”

He lets out a rush of air, and you feel him push his nose to your head before he tightens his hold on you and whispers, “Thank you.” He lifts his head and places a kiss to yours before laying his head on top of yours and whispering again, “Thank you. Thank you, thank you.” You feel a quick rush of static that branches out from where his lips met your head. It travels down your head, through your chest and arms, and settles in your stomach. He just continues to hold you, swaying gently back and forth. And if he lets a few more tears slip, this time from relief, well then no one has to know.

***

The concert that night was amazing, even more incredible than the night before. This time you remained side stage to watch the production of it all, you and Josh stealing glances and smiles at each other the whole time. When he would run backstage to change or run between stage A and B for the different sets, he would make sure that he ran by you, reaching out to run his fingers across your back or down your arm as he moved quickly past you. It always sets off a rush of tingles, causing you to shiver. And judging by his smirk, he knew it too. That little...

***

The bathroom door finally clicks open, and you stand up from the bed, rushing over to grab his hand.  “C’mere. I wanna try something,” you say enthusiastically, leading him to the center of the room. He’s fresh out of the shower, having only barely made it out of the bathroom door before you grabbed him up.

“What are we doing?”

“I wanna test out the soul reaching.”

“Oooh! Okay! What are we gonna do?” he asks, excitedly. You can tell that he not-so-secretly loves to feel the static, especially since he tries to be touching you, in some way, as much as possible.

“Well, since you’re only wearing basketball shorts at the moment, this is the perfect time to try out how strong it is. Now, I need you to lie down, probably on your back to start off.” He sits on the edge of the bed, then proceeds to lay back, feet spread slightly, arms out at a low angle by his hips, palms up.

“Okay, what I’m going to do is hover my hand over a certain area, not touching your skin, and I want you to tell me where my hand is, just based on the tingly, buzzing feeling. Ready?”

He shakes his head enthusiastically. “Ready.”

“Okay, close your eyes.” He does, but immediately starts to giggle. “I’m gonna start now.” You tiptoe around to the other side of the bed and place your hand just above his left knee. “Okay, where do you feel it?”

“Are you on my knee?”

“Yes!! Good job!” He smiles widely, lifting his chin in triumph. “I’m going to move to a new spot now.” You stay where you are, but move your hand to hover over his left hand. “Okay, do you feel me?”

“Yes, over my hand, right?”

“Yep, that’s right!”

He smiles widely again, sticking just the tip of his tongue between his teeth. “Oh my gosh, this is so crazy. I love that we can do this. It’s so cool!”

“I know, right?! It’s insane but so awesome. Okay, I’m moving again.” You move your hand and hover it just over his belly button. Not even a few seconds later, he’s got his knees pulled up, giggling.

“You can’t put your hand there! It tickles too much!” he laughs, pushing your hand away. You look up to his face to make sure he still has his eyes shut, and isn’t cheating. They’re shut.

“Okay, one more and then we’ll have you flip to your belly.” This time, instead of using your hand, being careful not to make any noise and holding your breath so he won’t feel you breathe, you lean over and hover your lips above his. You’re still a good three inches away, but it doesn’t matter. He lifts his head up and closes the distance between you, placing his hand behind your head and kissing your lips strongly. You let out the breath you were holding in a huff as the buzzing picks up and spreads immediately. It’s like a spark that sets a fire to the rest of your body. Your whole body is humming, vibrating at a steady pace.

Josh whimpers and takes that as a cue to keep going. He continues to sit up, kissing you again and placing his hand on the small of your back to pull you to him and into his lap. Once you’re seated, he breaks the kiss, but moves in again, this time taking in only your bottom lip, languidly running his tongue across it, then letting it slowly pull between his teeth.

“Josh?” you say breathlessly.

“Mmm?” he half answers, half moans back as he moves from your lips to the hinge of your jaw with soft lips, but firm pressure.  You want to tell him how you should stop. You want to tell him how this may be too much too fast. You want to tell him that this is more than likely only making the soulbond stronger.  You want to, but he opens his mouth and begins sucking right underneath that hinge and you are powerless to do anything in this moment. You are putty in his hands and all you can do lean your head to the side to give him more access.

You begin to lightly scratch your nails up and down his sides, sending new waves of electricity through him. He tilts his head back and moans, biting his bottom lip. You take that as your opportunity to move in, leaning in to place kisses along his jaw, his stubble rough on your face. You’re working your way across his jaw to the other side when he rolls his hips up, gasps, and suddenly grabs you on both sides of your face, crashing your lips together again. Your hands make their way up into the curls at the base of his neck and he moans before pulling back, resting his forehead on yours, panting.

“I really think,” he starts.

*kiss*

“Yeah, we should probably,” you continue.

*kiss*

“We really should,” he continues.

*kiss*

“Slow down,” you say together.

*kiss*

“Yeah,” you finish.

You both just sit there for a few seconds, foreheads pressed together and panting, trying to regulate your breathing.

“Hey, c’mere,” he whispers and he starts to shuffle back toward the pillows. You lift off his lap and scoot over next to him, both of you lying on your sides, facing each other. There is space between you and you are not touching, only looking and studying each other’s faces and emotions. He lifts his hand, palm out. You follow, lifting your hand and placing your palm just an inch from his. You both just lay there, feeling the warmth and static pass between you.

He looks into your eyes and chuckles. You see that familiar spark behind his eyes dancing again.  “This is the craziest thing I have ever experienced. If someone would have told me yesterday morning that I was gonna meet someone that day that my soul not only knew and reached out to, but that my body could do something like this as a reaction,” he looks at your hands hovering near each other, “I-I would’ve laughed, not believing a word of it. Heck, I probably would’ve called them crazy.”

He drops his hand, tucking both under his cheek before leaning forward, nudging your nose with his.

“You make me feel happy. So happy. Calm, peaceful, giddy.”  He pauses, his cheeks flushing before he continues. “When-when I see you, my stomach does flips. And when I’m near you, I get so many butterflies.”

You haven’t said a word so far, and you probably couldn’t if you wanted to. He is pouring his heart out to you, and you are content to let him. You stay still and quiet so he can continue.

He reaches out and places his palm gently on your cheek. “The staticky buzz I feel when we touch is so soothing, almost like a cat purring. It’s quiet and soft and calm, and I want to feel it all the time. I can’t get enough of it.”

He closes his eyes and breathes out. When he opens them again, you swear you can see directly into his soul. It is bare and exposed, revealing everything he has to you. “The past 36 hours are the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and that’s something I can’t explain. Things don’t normally happen like this. Somehow I feel like I already know you, and it feels surreal.  A-almost like a dream. Like, I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and it will all have been a beautiful, wonderful dream.”

You don’t say anything, just reach your arms out, inviting him in. You roll onto your back and he scoots over so that he can cuddle up next to you. His head is tucked under your chin and resting on your shoulder, his arm thrown over your waist, pulling you closer. You place a kiss to the top of his head.

“Josh,” you murmur, “everything you said was beautiful, and I one hundred percent have those exact feelings for you too, stomach flips and butterflies and all.” He nuzzles his head, whimpering as he snuggles in further. “I can’t tell you how many times my stomach has dropped out or flipped since I met you.” You giggle, feeling vulnerable admitting your feelings.

“I don’t know how to explain any of this either. All I know is it’s exciting, and thrilling, and scary all at the same time.” You pause and bring your hand to his head, running your fingers through his hair. “After tomorrow, I don’t know how…”

“I don’t want to think about tomorrow,” he interrupts. “Right now I just wanna lay here and be happy, with you.” He pulls you tight, hugging your waist.

And so you do. You both just lay there holding each other, content to just be… if only for tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being so patient with me in getting this chapter up. Since I posted ch 3 nine days ago, I have taken a 5 day business trip, got SUPER freaking sick (sinus congestion and sore throat), AND found out I am pregnant! (but don't worry, I'm a surrogate, so that was supposed to happen, and actually the entire reason for my business trip).
> 
> Next chapter is going to get a bit sad as they have to be apart now, but don't worry, it'll get fluffy again quickly :-)
> 
> If you're curious, this is a line array and a really cool video about actual concert stage set up. 
> 
>  
> 
> [ line array](http://yantragyan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/klingfreitag_maxschmeling_2b.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
> [ actual stage set up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cah2Z2Kilk)
> 
>  
> 
> [ LED concert screen set up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5sJeIA5ehk)


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning arrives much sooner than either of you wanted it to. Wake up call comes at 7 and bus call is at 8 am... one hour.

You watch him as he walks around the room, reluctantly gathering his things to pack away. He walks slowly, his face crestfallen and head down with his shoulders slumped over.

He stuffs something into his bag, maybe a bit more forcefully than necessary and huffs out an exasperated breath.  He stops and walks over to you, placing his hands on your hips and slowly pulling you to him. He wraps his arms around you and leans down to place his forehead against yours and lets his eyes slide shut. He stands there for a few seconds, just feeling your presence within his arms and breathing you in.

He sighs heavily and says, “God, this is so hard. It feels like I’m walking towards a funeral. Maybe even my own funeral.” He stops for a second as his hands start to run up and down your back.  “I don’t wanna leave, but I know I have to.” He places his hand on the back of your head, kissing the top before pulling it to his chest. You turn your head and close your eyes as you listen to his steady heartbeat. “I’m going to miss you so, so much.”

You feel the familiar prickling at the corners of your eyes and squeeze them shut, fighting to keep any tears that threaten away. You’re going to miss him just as much. _‘Come on now, be strong. If not for yourself, for him,’_ you think to yourself.

“And just think, 48 hours ago, you didn’t even know me,” you say with a halfhearted laugh, trying and failing to lighten the mood.

He scoffs before saying, “I can’t even remember what life was like before then. It’s crazy how much your life can change in an instant.” He leans back, using his finger to tilt your chin up before leaning down and placing a soft, light kiss against your lips. The buzzing is there, but it somehow seems subdued. “I’m so glad I met you.”

“Hey,” he drops his hand and takes a step back, fishing for something in his pockets. “can...can I, umm, can I have your phone number?”

“Sure, but only if I can have yours too,” you tease, smiling up at him, trying to make him feel better. You turn toward the tv stand where your purse sits, pulling it over to you and start digging around for your phone. When you finally find it and pull it out, something drops to the ground. You look down and realize it’s your favorite bracelet. It’s just a simple, brown leather bracelet that has a kitty cat face charm on it, a knot on each side of the charm, and a snap closure. It gives you an idea.

You hand Josh your phone and he busies himself putting in his number, quickly calling his phone from yours so he can save your number as well. While he’s distracted, you bend down to pick up the bracelet. He hands your phone back asking, “You promise you’ll text me?” he asks shyly, as if you wouldn’t text him. Yeah, right.

“Of course I’ll text you, but only if you wear this for me,” you tease, holding up the bracelet between your thumb and first finger. “This is my favorite bracelet ever. I used to wear it everywhere. Now I want you to have it.”

He looks at the bracelet and smiles with a toothy grin, reaching out to take it from you. “Aww, it’s got a little kitty on it.”

“Yeah. A kitty for Kitty,” you giggle. “I figured it could be something of mine that you could wear and keep with you, but it would be inconspicuous enough that no one would speculate.”  

“I love cats. It’s perfect.” he leans down and kisses your cheek. “I’ll never take it off. Put it on me?” he asks, holding out his arm. You snap it onto his left wrist, then bring his wrist up to your mouth to place a small kiss there. Josh blushes and glances away. How in the world is he so cute?! You give his hand one final squeeze before turning to grab your purse. He swings his backpack over his shoulders and you both take a deep breath before heading downstairs, the room door closing loudly behind you.

***

You walk together, through the lobby and down to where the buses are parked, the car rental station just across the lot. You are careful to walk close to him, but not touch him. You’re now in a public space where you can be seen by who knows who, and you don’t want things to turn sour for him if he’s seen with you and rumors start to fly.

Tucked away between the other buses, you finally find and reach his designated bus. His and Tyler’s bus is always parked somewhat in the middle to allow them privacy and/or to keep them hidden from fans. He takes advantage of this and when you reach the bus door, he turns to you, placing his hand on your cheek. The buzzing is immediate and stronger this time, more intense. It’s like your souls know they’re about to be separated and they are acting out, desperately trying to stay together.

“You promise you’ll message me?” He asks again. He sounds so scared, so frightened.

“I promise, Josh. I’ll message you every free moment I can, even when you can’t message back so that you’ll always have a bunch of messages to come back to.”

He smiles and pulls your face to his, softly kissing you on the lips. The buzzing is wildly powerful, and you both gasp, bringing your hands to your mouths when you pull apart.

You take a step back and wave, whispering, “Bye, Josh,” before turning and walking toward the car rental, ignoring the pit you feel in your stomach. You decidedly refuse to turn around for fear that if you do, you’d run back, unable to leave his side. You miss the tears that well up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. He loses his battle and they streak down his face.

He boards the bus.

***

You’re about an hour into your drive back home and your phone chirps with an incoming notification.

Snapchat

Joshua Dun added you to Snapchat! 11:00 AM

A few moments later and another notification comes through saying you got a video snap from Josh. It’s a video he filmed facing out of the bus window of the passing landscape. You can hear Sigur Rós - Untitled 1 playing the background.

The caption simply says, ‘Miss you so much already’.

***

The first few nights are hard. The next few nights are even harder. The next few are impossible. Josh sits at his drum set, staring off into nothingness in front of him, eyes unfocused, and a blank expression on his face.

“Josh? ...Josh, did you hear me? Helloooo. Earth to Josh. Guys, can we have a few minutes, please?” Tyler asks, turning to the crew. It’s sound check time and he had mentioned something about switching up the set list a bit tonight to add in a Mario Kart segment.

He walks over to where Josh sits, frozen, and places his hand on his shoulder. Josh startles, bringing his wide eyes to meet Tyler’s face.

“T-Tyler… what? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, you tell me, man. I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes. Are you okay, dude?”

And there it is again. That freaking phrase that just makes everything come crashing down in giant waves of no-totally-not-okay-ness. Josh feels his stomach twist and his eyes sting. His breathing picks up and his brow furrows. He tries to hold it in, but his bottom lip starts to quiver. The dam breaks.

“Tyler, I’m so sorry.” Josh buries his face in his hands, curling in on himself. His shoulders start to shake with sobs. “I’m s-sorry I’m ruining practice time,” he says as a new wave of sobs overtakes him.

“Hey, heyheyhey, none of that, now. You’re not ruining anything. What’s going on, Jish? You know you can talk to me,” Tyler soothes.

Josh lifts his head and wipes at his eyes with his hands, sniffling. He looks pitiful with his eyes all red and puffy. Tyler pulls him up and into a tight hug before he pulls them down to sit cross legged on the stage floor, right next to the platform that holds his drum set.  

“Talk to me, Josh. I’ve noticed some things have been different about you lately. You’ve seemed… off. Just distant and empty. Where’s my joyful, happy friend?”

Josh groans and lolls his head back before bringing it forward to hang, chin to his chest. “Well, that’s just it, I don’t feel like myself. I DO feel empty. I feel like an empty shell, Tyler, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

As scared as Tyler is with that confession, heck, he’s felt that exact way himself, he just sits there quietly, knowing to stay quiet so his friend will continue to vent. He nods his head, making a noncommittal sound so that his friend will continue.

“I-I’ve tried different things, you know, t-to make it… better, but I just can’t.  I’ve tried skateboarding, coming up with new drumming patterns, going out and exploring new things, but none of it makes me happy. None of it makes me feel less… empty.”

Tyler pulls his knees up and wraps his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees. Josh mimics him and Tyler’s eye catches the cat bracelet on his wrist.

“Josh, is this about… is this about Kitty?”

Josh sighs heavily and squeezes his eyes shut. This is it. He’s gonna tell Tyler and Tyler’s gonna think he’s gone crazy. What if he laughs at him? What if he tells him he’s stupid? What if he kicks him out of the band?

“Tyler, I gotta tell you something. But-but you gotta promise not to laugh.” He proceeds to tell Tyler everything. He tells him about the soul bond, the tingles, the buzzes and static, the fireworks, the butterflies. He even tells him about how the intensity changes when you kiss and when you separated the day you went home.

Tyler sits there with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “Holy sh--, Josh, why would I EVER make fun of you for that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because it sounds crazy? Sounds like a made-up story in a book or movie. But I swear to you, Tyler, it’s one hundred percent real. I felt it with my own body.” He holds up his hands in a surrender position, wiggling his fingertips.

“Well, it IS crazy. Crazy AWESOME! I didn’t even know something like a soulbond existed. All I have ever heard of is soulmates, and dude, are you SURE you’re not...”

“Well, she said it was possible,” Josh interrupts.  “The only thing we’re sure of is that our souls knew each other from a time before, and they could’ve been related, friends, or lovers. She told me this would happen, too.  She said that once our souls recognized each other and started bonding that they’d never stop searching for each other. I guess… I guess that’s probably what happening here.”

“Duuuude. You got it baaaad,” Tyler says. Josh just groans.

“How do you and Jenna do it? How do you deal with being apart?”

“I mean, our situation is different because we’re married and we don't... feel the effects of... the soul... thing,” Tyler says, waving his arm up and down to gesture at Josh’s body. Josh groans again, “But we do stay in constant contact when she’s not here. We’ll call, or text. We always tell each other goodnight. And it helps if you have a countdown to the next time you’ll see each other. It helps me. I just have to think ‘okay, only X more days until we get to see each other’.”

As if on queue, Josh’s phone buzzes with a notification. He takes it out of his pocket and his face lights up when he see’s the snapchat you sent him. He smiles and his spirits are lifted. Tyler definitely takes notice.

Standing back up and squeezing Josh on the shoulder, he earns a small smile before jogging back to his post. “Alright guys, let’s pick back up, please,” Tyler shouts, then says something into his inner ear system. People resume their positions and continue as if nothing ever happened.

Josh resumes his spot at his set, but not before sending you a snapchat back. It’s a picture of him sitting in front of his drum set, kissing the bass drum, with the caption, 'Wish you were here'.

***

That night he plays the show and does his part for the fans. He makes sure he puts on a good front and pretends to be his smiley, happy self. He is grateful that a lot of the show he can be hidden away under a mask, and behind his kit. He puts all of his energy and concentration into playing, using the intensity of his drumming to ebb away at his frustration and sorrow.  

But after the show, things change. After the show, he goes back to being a shell. Headphones are always on and Josh is either staring off into space or lying in his bunk, rolled over and curled into a ball.

His soul hurts. His soul aches. His soul grieves.

Sometimes Tyler can hear him quietly sobbing at night. It breaks his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sigur Ros - untitled 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVLP-URFgQo) \- Song Josh plays in his snapchat. It's one of their favorites and they actually play this song before they take the stage at shows!
> 
>  
> 
> [ the cat bracelet](http://imgur.com/S6t1sv3)
> 
>  
> 
> We're almost there, guys! One or two more chapters and this fic will be finished!


	6. Chapter 6

There’s a moment of silence as the track ends before starting back up again. You’ve had the same song, the one he sent in his first snap, Sigur Ros - Untitled 1, on repeat for hours now. The music just washes over you and touches your soul, allowing you to wallow in your feelings. You miss him. You miss him so much. You have a constant ache in your heart that no matter what you do, you cannot fill or ignore.

You have taken to just spending your days locked away in your room. You’ve given up trying to distract yourself with various things. Concentration is not a luxury you are afforded now. Your favorite tv shows go ignored, you can’t remember the plot anyway. You frequently zone out from conversations, and your roommate has to repeat himself on several occasions. Sometimes you get out of bed. Sometimes you actually shower. Sometimes you remember to eat.

You lie there, staring at nothing and completely indifferent to the fact that the sun has started its descent into the hills. It’s beginning to be a less than an appropriate level of dark in your room. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.

You would roll over and just sleep, but your dreams are filled with images of him. His bright hair. His dark, chocolate eyes that squint when he laughs. His perfect, rounded teeth. His tight hugs. His warmth. You are surrounded by everything JoshJoshJosh, and it just makes you ache even more, waking up to a wet pillow, endless sorrow, and the feeling of being punched in the gut.

The sudden light on the display of your phone is incredibly bright on your eyes, stinging them and causing you to squint. You quickly shield your eyes, grimacing at the phone as if it has somehow insulted you. It takes several seconds before you realize that it’s actually ringing.

Your stomach bottoms out. It’s Josh.

“Hello?” you say, trying to clear your throat and sound normal.

“God, it’s so good to hear your voice,” he sighs into the phone.

Your heart leaps. You can feel it beating rapidly behind your chest and your stomach gives another flip. Your soul recognizes that voice and is trying desperately to reach it. It yearns and will do anything to be close to it again.

“I know, it’s good to hear you too.” You take a breath and drop your voice to a whisper, “I’ve missed you so much, Josh.”

“That’s... that’s actually why I’m calling. Umm, we have a small break, an-and I was wondering if you’d be able to come out and visit me?”

“Visit you? You mean, like, out in LA? When? For how long?”

“Yeah. Well, today was our first day of break, actually, and we have about 5 more days.” You hear him shuffle around as he switches the phone to his other ear. “I just... I’d really like to see you, and I...”

All at once it’s like the dense smog around you has been lifted and you can suddenly breathe better. You feel lighter somehow. “Dude, yes! I can totally do that! Hang on, let me look up some info on plane tickets,” you say quickly, swinging your legs to the side of your bed to go fetch your laptop.

“Well, I, umm... actually, can you be at the airport in an hour? I sort of already bought you a ticket.” The line is silent as he waits for your reply. You can tell that he’s probably holding his breath, half of his bottom lip pulled under his teeth.

You start sputtering before you can finally spit out, “WHAT?! JOSH! How did… how did you know I was even going to say yes? Or that I was going to let you buy my ticket?”

“I, umm, I didn’t. I kind of just had it all pulled up and ready to go on my laptop. Then I called to see if you would be able to make it, and as soon as you agreed, I-I sort of... bought the ticket.” You can hear the smirk in his voice.

You take a breath to say something back, but he continues, “Can your roommate take you to the airport? Do you need an Uber?”

“Josh,” you sigh heavily into the phone, “I can get to the airport. And as much as I want to talk to you, I’d rather see you, so I need to let you go so I can pack.” You can barely hold in your excitement. You have butterflies again and you can’t stop smiling when you continue, “So, I’ll see you in about five hours?”

He makes a noise on the other end of the line. Omg, did he just squeal?

It’s a sudden snapchat battle while you pack. You send him a snap of every step along the way. You send one of your empty suitcase, then one of you just dumping a pile of clothes into it, followed by one that is stationary on the suitcase, but records as things drop rapidly into your suitcase as you throw your makeup bag, hair brush, toothbrush, hairspray, and other bathroom stuff into it from across the room. You have your roommate to thank for help with that one.

***

 _‘Omg, omg, this is it. This is IT!’_ You think to yourself as the plane taxis up to the tunnel. This is the moment you’ve been craving since you two had to part in St. Louis, the moment that’s had you shaking with excited jitters since you hung up the phone with him earlier tonight. All you have to do is stand up, throw your backpack on, walk thru the tunnel, and then you’ll finally, FINALLY be together again.

The plane comes to a jolting stop and, with shaking hands, you immediately unbuckle your seat belt, standing to retrieve your backpack from the overhead bin. The wait while they open the plane doors and line up the jetway is excruciating, but once the passengers start moving and you step off the plane, you are full on running through the jetway and through the entrance to the boarding area.

You stop where you are, looking left and then looking right for his recognizable hair. Your heart is racing and your stomach is doing flips. Your whole body is trembling and you raise a shaking hand to your forehead, still glancing around for him. It’s noisy and there are people EVERYWHERE. You see people speed walking, pulling rolling suitcases that make a click-clack, click-clack noise behind them as they go. You see people embracing their loved ones as they deplane. You see more people standing over at the baggage carousel waiting for their luggage. You see…

Josh.

Suddenly you’re rooted to the spot, unable to move. Your mind is screaming at you to run to him, but your body just won’t cooperate. He stands on his tiptoes, stretching his body and leaning from side to side, trying to look over the crowd to find you. He looks back down and shuffles over, mumbling an apology and moving out of the way for a lady and her stroller. When he looks back up, his eyes instantly snap to yours.

Suddenly it’s like everything is muffled and time slows down. You don’t hear the crowds of people talking or the sounds of luggage. You don’t see the hundreds of bodies that surround you in a sea of people. All you see is him and he is looking right back at you.

You just stand there, staring at his perfect face, not believing that this moment is finally real when he waves and smiles that eye-crinkling, tooth-showing, million-watt smile, complete with his tongue slightly poking out, and that’s it. That’s the thing that breaks the spell as you are suddenly surging forward, quickly walking toward him, ready to embrace him and never let him go.

You’re only about six steps away when suddenly two girls are bounding up to him and you hear, “Oh my god, are you Josh Dun?!” He looks at them and then back at you, shooting you a quick apologetic look before turning to them and answering. The talk for several seconds and you hear lots of squealing, followed by him slinging an arm around them to pose for a selfie. You just hang back and watch, grinning at the scene before you the whole time. That used to be you.

He thanks them and turns back to you, giving you a sheepish look but still smiling. You slowly walk up to him, stopping just in front of him. You realize now that you are in a very public place and probably shouldn’t show any form of public affection, those girls just proving that you never know who may be watching.

You look up at him and into those beautiful, deep brown eyes.

“Hi,” you breathe out.

“Hi.”

Neither of you moves and you continue to stare at each other, your eyes conveying everything that words and actions cannot. Your arms hang at your sides when suddenly his fingertips graze yours, and the static electricity starts buzzing fiercely. You hear him gasp, looking to you with wide eyes. Your whole body is jolting, screaming at you once again to make contact, but you simply can’t in this place.

With a great show of willpower, you take a step back, taking a deep breath as you go. “We should… we should get my luggage,” you blurt out, still sort of dazed.

“Yeah. Let's get out of here,” he says with a smile, leading you over to the baggage carousel.

***

The drive to his house is mostly quiet if you don’t count all the times the two of you would look over at each other and immediately burst into a fit of giggles. Neither of you can believe you are finally together again, and the sheer amount of giddiness you feel has you both spilling over with laughter.

He grabs your suitcase from the trunk and leads you up to the front door. He punches in a security code and opens the door, letting you walk in first. He flicks on the lights and you are met with the foyer and living room area of Josh’s house.

You hear him shut the door and you lean down and set your backpack on the floor, your eyes wandering over what you can see of the house all the while.

“Wow, Josh, it’s beautiful.”

“Yes, you are,” he quips. He turns to you, quickly closing the distance between you. He places his hand on your cheek and leans down, finally pulling you into a kiss. Your body ignites into a storm of tingling and buzzing static. It’s like a fire has been lit in your veins and you can feel it run the length of your body, down to your extremities and back up before settling in your stomach. You hear Josh whimper, and the amount of heat radiating off his body is immense. Your hands come up and scratch lightly up the length of his arms.

He groans and pulls away, taking a small step back, but leaving his hands at your waist. He inhales and says breathlessly, “I’ve been waiting to do that since you got off the plane. I’ve missed you so much.”

“God, Josh, you don’t know how much I missed you,” you reply, taking him by the back of the neck and pull him back to you. You kiss him again, this time pulling him tightly to you, desperate to feel him, desperate for his touch. He is happy to give it to you and you feel him start to melt as the kisses get more heated. He makes a noise in the back of his throat and pulls away, again taking a small step back, but leaning his forehead down to yours, his eyes still closed. If he doesn’t keep a small bit of distance between you, he might not be able to control himself for long.

“Let’s, umm... let’s get you settled in, and then we can talk, okay?” He’s panting and you are sure you’re in no better shape as you agree.

***

He leads you up the stairs to his bedroom, pointing out other rooms as you pass them. You reach his room at the end of the hallway, and he walks in, placing your suitcase on top of the dresser.

“Well, this is it,” he says, arms out and turning in a circle. You smile back at him and look around, taking in your surroundings. “I haven’t been here much lately, obviously, so I don’t have many clothes stored here at the moment. This side of the dresser is actually empty if you wanna use it for your stuff.” He pulls out a couple drawers to show their emptiness.

“Yeah, okay. That’ll be perfect,” you say and walk over, unzipping your suitcase and begin to unpack. You pull out all your bathroom stuff, setting it on top of the dresser next to the suitcase to take to the bathroom later, and then start pulling out your clothes, placing them into the top drawer.

Suddenly you feel strong arms wrap around your waist from behind and you are enveloped in warm warm warm as he presses into your back, giving you a hug from behind and hooking his chin over your shoulder. He hums in contentment as you look down, seeing the kitty bracelet and smiling to yourself before placing your arms over his. You allow yourself a satisfied sigh as you lean your head back onto his shoulder, just feeling his warmth and the soothing buzzing that’s spreading over your body.

“Josh,” you whisper, “I missed you.”

He doesn’t say anything, just turns his head and places a kiss just under your ear. The buzzing amps up when he kisses you there and it causes you to gasp. He must feel it too because you hear him gasp as well before he is back, kissing you on the curve of your neck and shoulder. You feel teeth there next, and you groan before feeling him kiss the spot again.

Suddenly he spins you around, hands holding tight to your waist. He leans down, kissing your lips, firmly. “Mmm,” he moans before deepening the kiss, pulling your bottom lip through his teeth when he pulls away, “missed you so much.”

You look up at him and he looks so far gone already, eyes lidded, pupils blown, and drunk off the feeling of the buzzing and staticky tingles. You reach up and place your hand on his cheek. He leans into it, placing his hand over yours, humming as turns and places a kiss to your palm. He glances back at you and suddenly he’s surging forward.

“God,” he says quickly, pulling you flush up against him again, capturing your lips once more. “I can’t take it anymore, the pull is too much. Please, I need you.”

You know what he means because you feel it yourself as well. It’s not just a sexual need, it’s an emotional need. A need to be close. A need to be connected. A need to be together.

He leans in again and starts mouthing at your neck, trailing open mouthed kisses from one side to the other. You tilt your head over, giving him more access.

“Joosshhh.” God, he feels so good. You feel the pressure on your hips increase as he starts walking you backwards to the bed. “Josh. Jo-osh!” It’s so very hard to talk when his mouth is doing… that. “If we do this, this is only going to strengthen the bond even more. In fact, it’ll almost complete it.” You feel your legs hit the side of the bed and you collapse down, sitting on the edge. He continues to push you with his upper body, capturing you in a kiss as you scoot back, letting him push you to a lying position.

He pulls back, hovering over you as he says, “I don’t care. I want this. I want you,” he lays his body down on top of yours. The weight is delicious. You moan at the feeling when he continues, “I want all of you.” He lifts his hand and uses his fingernails to brush your hair back off your forehead. Your eyes roll back.

“Mind.”

*kiss*

“Body.”

*kiss*

“And soul.” He leans down to kiss you deeper this time, but he rolls his hips down at the same time, giving you tingles in places that send your blood rushing, and that’s it. You give in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise you won't be waiting long...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pure smut (and a little fluff). I'm not all that good with smut, so I apologize if this is not up to expectations.

You moan audibly, fully surrendering to him now. He trails one hand down your side, following it to your thigh before he grabs your leg at the knee, hiking it up and throwing it around his back, grinding down again. Both of your heads fly back and you moan together.

You reach up and grab the back of his head, pulling him to you, kissing him roughly. You feel his tongue slide across your bottom lip and you open willingly, giving him access.

Your hands start roaming, anywhere you can touch before ending up at the seam of his shirt, and you play with the hem for a second before your hands sneak under. You use your nails to lightly scratch up and down his back, earning a groan from him. He pulls back and sits up for a second, yanking his shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor.

He reaches out and grasps your hand, pulling you to sit up. He reattaches his mouth to your neck, and you hum as a new wave of static rushes through your body. He works his way down, mouthing at nipping at your collarbones, pulling at your shirt collar to get more access. His free hand is rubbing across your stomach, around your waist and to the small of your back, palm wide, touching any amount of skin he can. His hand is so warm, and the static continues to buzz just under your skin excitedly.

When he finally gets frustrated with working around your shirt, he pulls back, looking you in the eye with raised eyebrows and tugging on the hem of the shirt, silently asking if he can remove it. You nod and raise your arms, letting him pull it up and off. Your eyes find his again and you swear can see his soul on fire as he timidly reaches around to unclasp your bra.

It doesn’t take him long to unclasp it, and you let the straps fall down your arms before he slips it down, tossing it away too. He takes a minute to drink you in before reaching out and trailing a finger from your neck, down your chest, between your breasts, and down your stomach, the touch leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Using both hands now, he slides them back up your body to cup your breasts. He pulls his bottom lip under his teeth as he lets his thumbs rub across your nipples, sending new jolts of pleasure through you.

“Ahh, Joosh,” you sigh, as you throw your head back, lost in the pleasure. You feel a puff of warm air across your nipple, causing it to perk up before the sudden wet warmth you feel causes you to instantly pull your head back up and look down at him. He has his eyes closed and mouth attached to your breast. His eyelashes fan out over his cheeks and his eyebrows are raised, clearly enjoying what he’s doing. He looks so hot like that.

You feel him flatten his tongue, running it slowly across before using just the tip of his tongue to flick it a few times. You moan and your hands fly up to grip his hair, just to have something to ground you. He sucks lightly, pulling it between his teeth. This sends another wave a pleasure straight to your middle, and you shiver as he pulls off.

Those beautiful brown eyes are staring up into yours again as he straightens himself back up. His face is full of awe as he says, “You make me so, so happy.”  He leans in and wraps his arm around your upper back and slowly pulls you flush against him. The buzzing increases more with the skin to skin contact, and you both savor it, both humming as you melt into each other.

He leans his head back and lets the feeling wash over him as he closes his eyes and bites his lip. His throat bobs as he swallows thickly, and you lean in to lick a stripe at that spot, wide tongue and slow. He moans and you move over to his ear, dragging you lips along his neck as you go. “Joooossshhh,” you whisper into his ear. He shivers and you nip at the shell of his ear, causing him to whimper.

“I-I want… I want…” he tries to stutter out.

“Shh. I got you,” you say into his neck and you rake your fingernails from the small of his back to his shoulders. His head flies back and he groans loudly.  Suddenly he is flipping your positions and pulling you to sit on top of him. You straddle his hips and he thrusts up, causing a rush of static to course through your body. Your eyes roll as you moan and lean down, kissing a trail from his neck to his collar bones, nipping at his skin as you go.

His hands are on your waist and he is tossing his head from side to side. You continue your descent, kissing across his collar, down to his chest, and then down to his pecs before running your thumbnail over a nipple. You hear a sharp intake of breath and attach your mouth to it and suck. He moans loudly and arcs his back off the bed hard, nearly unseating you as he pulls his bottom lip under his teeth, growling.

You scoot back onto his thighs as you continue your way down his stomach before reaching his waistband. You dip the middle fingers from both your hands under the elastic and slowly rub back and forth around his hips. You glance up, waiting for him to give you the okay.  His mouth is slack and eyes are closed, totally lost in bliss. That vision alone sends another wave of pleasure through your body.

“Josh,” you whisper. He looks down at you through lidded eyes. Blinking slowly, he places his hand in your hair and gives a few scratches before he lifts his hips, allowing you to slowly slip his pants down and off.

You settle in between his legs, pushing them apart at the knees and running your hands slowly up and down his thighs, scratching lightly. You hear him whimper and you lean in, placing open mouthed kisses on his inner thigh as you work your way up. You switch to the other thigh and work your way up again, his breath coming out in huffs above you.

You lift your head and line up with his middle.  The thin material of his boxer briefs the only thing separating you from him. There’s already a wet spot forming, and you huff out a breath, the heat going across his groin causing his breath to hitch. You reach up and palm him once, twice, and he moans out, long and deep at the touch.

You hook your fingers under the waistband of his underwear and lightly tug. He lifts his hips and you slide them down and off. You look down and admire the scene before you, letting your eyes roam up and down his body.

You now have a naked Josh Dun under you.

He is truly breathtaking, his body flushed and covered in a slight sheen of sweat. Not only is his body beautiful, but here he is, in this utmost of intimate situations, giving himself over to you. The sheer amount of emotions starts to raise up in your chest and it almost overwhelms you. You want to give anything, everything to this man.

Starting to get self-conscious, he slings an arm over his eyes and groans.

“Josh,” you say as you scoot up a bit, pulling his arm from his eyes, “you are beautiful. Please don’t hide from me. I wanna see you.” He reaches up and pulls you to him, connecting your lips in a deep kiss. You indulge him, letting him continue to kiss you as you start trailing your hand lightly back down his chest and stomach. You pause just before you grip him, squeezing the base before you give a couple experimental pumps.

He moans loudly, eyes rolling as his head flies back into the pillows. You take this momentary distraction to move back into position between his legs, once again letting your breath ghost across him. You place your hands on his hips, thumbs rubbing soothing circles in the creases of his legs before you lean in and lick a thick strip up his member.  
  
“Oh god,” you hear him moan out as you swirl your tongue slowly around the tip. Opening your mouth wide, you take as much of him in as you can, hand working at the base where your lips don’t quite reach. You continue to make long, slow bobs, making sure to work your tongue along the vein underneath and swirling your tongue around the tip every so often. He is a panting, whimpering mess above you, and this time when you come up, you dip your tongue into the slit and he growls, sitting up to pull you off him.

“I want… I wa- I need you,” he stammers out while pulling you to him. He captures your mouth in his and pushes you with his upper body to lay you down. He pulls away to quickly slide your leggings and panties off together in one motion. You help as much as you can by lifting your hips and bringing your legs up to help him get them off easier.

He tosses them off to the side somewhere and moves back in, leaning over from next to you to kiss you again. He can’t keep his lips off of you.

Suddenly you feel his fingers at your middle, moving up and down from your opening to your clit. You moan loud and deep, his touch sending an intense wave of static through your body that centers right at your pleasure zone. You throw your head and whine when he pushes two warm fingers inside of you, scissoring them back and forth.

You can’t help it, you cry out at that, “Oh god, Josh!”

Hearing you say his name like that causes him to whimper before he leans in to place his mouth right by your ear to whisper, “You’re so wet. Can I… can I taste you?”

He licks the spot just behind your ear and his question has you shivering. You whine again, “Joosh. Josh, please!”

He removes his fingers and quickly replaces them with his tongue, licking a line from your entrance to your clit. You hum in pleasure as you feel him start to swirl and circle his tongue around your mound. He flicks his tongue against you and your legs start to shake.

With all the static and buzzing, plus what he’s doing with his mouth, you start to feel that familiar, warm stir in your belly.

“Josh! Josh, I’m close,” you try to warn him, your hands flying to his hair. Your hips are moving up and down on their own accord now, and you feel him hum against you, pushing you that much closer to the edge.

JOSH! I’m gonna cum,” you warn louder but completely breathless.  He pushes his fingers back in just as sucks lightly your nub, and that is it, you see white. JOOOSH!” you cry out and you ride your orgasm, white hot heat and electricity flying up and down your body, pulsing at your center.

You are panting, eyes still squeezed shut when he starts to line himself up. Once he gets himself where he needs to be, he takes a moment to lean down and kiss you sweetly, placing a palm on your cheek. You open your eyes and he is already staring down at you.   
  
“I missed you so much,” he whispers, and you swear you can see his eyes begin to get glossy. He closes his eyes and pushes in, groaning as he bottoms out. He lets his head hang as he pulls out slowly before he rocks back in.

He sets a steady rhythm, and you wrap one leg around him, helping you to get leverage to meet each of his thrusts.

“God, I missed you. Missed you so much.” He speeds up just slightly, grunting as he thrusts in.

“Hated being apart.” His eyes roll back and he starts panting. You grip his shoulders tight.

“So glad you’re here.” He lets his head fall to your shoulder. He starts to whine between thrusts.  

“Want you to stay,” he whispers against your neck. “Need you to… oh god, I’m not gonna last much longer.”

“Josh. Come on Josh. I’m here now. Let go for me. Just let it all go,” you encourage, running your hands up and down his back. And he does; he lets go. His hips stutter a bit before slamming to a stop inside you. You can feel him pulsing inside as he buries his head in your neck, crying out.

Neither of you move, both of you lay there, basking in the warm afterglow and low buzzing running through your bodies as you try to regulate your breathing. You are still lightly running your fingernails up and down his back when you hear what you think is a small sob. You pull back, trying to look at his face that is still buried in your neck.

“Josh?”

He lifts his head and his eyes are wet. One single tear streaks its way down his cheek and you reach up to wipe it away.  “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it!! Next chapter will be the end!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is it! Final chapter!

“Bet you can’t make it from over here!” you shout, most of the way across the bedroom now.

It’s closing in on midnight now, but the two of you could not be more awake. Instead, you are both running around his bedroom, each dressed in cat onesies, his in gray and yours in black, trying to see who can throw a piece of popcorn and make it into the other’s mouth from furthest away.  A giant bowl of popcorn sits in the middle of the dresser, right next to his laptop that is currently playing cat fail compilations on youtube.

He pushes the sleeves of his onesie up to his elbows. “Bet you I can! Watch this!” He grabs a whole handful of popcorn, takes aim, and tosses the whole handful at your open mouth.

“HEY! You can’t do that! That’s cheating!”

He gasps and places his splayed hand across his chest in pretend shock. “Me? Cheat? I would never,” he says with a giant grin.

“Oh, that is it!” you exclaim. “You are so gonna get it now!” you say as you launch yourself at him, hands poised at the ready. He lets out a screech and attempts to run away, but he’s not quick enough. You catch up to him, sinking your fingers into his ribs. He falls back onto the bed, squealing for mercy.

“Nooooooo!” he shrieks as he erupts into a fit of laughter.  “Stop! Quit! I can’t breathe!” he howls in between fits of giggles. He’s rolling left to right and kicking his feet.

You continue your assault as you bargain, “Okay, Mr. Dun, but on one condition…”

“Anything!” he barely chokes out in between gasps of air and fits of laughter.

“You gotta kiss me.”

You stop your assault on him and he throws one arm over his eyes while he lies there panting, trying to catch his breath. He removes his arm from his eyes before continuing, “Now that, I think I can handle.”

He leans up onto his elbows, placing his lips on yours for a chaste kiss. When he pulls away, he remains close, looking into your eyes. He shifts his weight, lifts a hand to your cheek and closes the gap again, kissing you longer this time. Slower. You wrap your arms around him and lay down next to him. This... this feels like home.

You shift to your back and pull him in tight so that he is cuddled up next to you, his head under your chin and resting on your shoulder.  He slings his arm over waist, pulling you in closer. Your stomach does a small flip and you reach down and run your fingertips up and down his forearm, the slight buzz almost tickling him.

He lets out a heavy, contented sigh as he nuzzles his head in deeper. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Josh,” you answer as you continue to rub his arm.

“It was the strangest thing, I- I almost can’t describe it. My body didn’t feel whole anymore. It felt like I was left with a giant hole in my chest that just ached and ached, you know? Like, I could go about my day and stuff, but I always felt... empty. It felt like a piece of me was literally gone.”

You sigh before leaning down to kiss the top of his head, pulling him even closer to you. He’s so warm. “Remember when I said our souls would never stop searching for each other once they were introduced to each other, especially after a bonding act like a kiss?” He chuckles and agrees, his hair tickling your chin as he nods.  

“Well, that’s what you were feeling, what we were feeling. Your soul recognized mine when we met and it reached out, loving when it got the same response from my soul reaching back out to yours. Then suddenly they were torn apart again and it was torture for them. It was a loss and your soul was in true agony. That hole you felt in your chest was your soul longing, yearning, reaching out and trying desperately to find its mate. I felt it too, and believe me, it was like death.”

“I never want to feel that way again,” he murmurs into your shoulder.

“Do you still feel that way now?”

“No. No, not at all. When I’m with you it... it’s actually the opposite. My chest feels full, almost to the point of bubbling over. And sometimes it does, and I just can’t stop the smile or giggle that rises up from my chest. It’s like it’s spilling over with joy.”

He squeezes you even tighter to him as he continues, “My body craves you, wants to be near you. And when we touch,” he pushes his nose against the underside of your jaw, feeling the buzz and smiling to himself, “that’s when I feel it the most. My heart beats faster and it’s like something is just going to burst and flood with happiness. It’s addicting. Will that always happen?”

“It will most likely continue until our souls are bonded completely… if they’re bonded completely.” You lean down and place another quick kiss to his head. He makes a small humming sound.

“And even after being bonded, we might still feel the static with each touch. But if our souls are separated permanently, it will feel like it did when we were apart those few weeks again, only stronger and for the rest of our lives. My grandma always said that those people with nearly bonded souls, like ours, that for whatever reason separate from each other and never fully bond… she said those are the ones that don’t make it. She said they fall into deep depression and sometimes can’t continue to live on without the other person.”

“Oh, no, no, no. That’s never gonna happen.  I never want to let you go.” He whimpers as he drops his voice to a whisper. “Please tell me I don’t have to let this go...let you go,” He sounds pained, like the thought of you not being together causes him physical pain.

“Josh, you gotta be careful with what you say. You could end up accidentally initiating a full bond...”

“But... but I want… can I… can I keep you? Will you be mine? Please say you’ll be mine, cause I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.” He lifts his head slowly and you stare into his eyes. They’re so soft and so deep, and you can see that he means every word he’s saying, his gaze begging you to say yes.

You don’t say anything yet, just lean down and place your forehead on his, closing your eyes. Holy shit, is he really asking what you think he’s asking? And did he just say he loved you? Woah!

“Josh, do you realize what you’re asking?” you murmur, opening your eyes.  “If you’re making this official, you have to understand that with our bond being so closely completed already, this will seal our bond, seal our fates together.  And if anything were to happen and our relationship didn’t make it, our souls would be broken, permanently.”  
  
He sighs and sits up, sitting cross legged and taking your hands in his. You follow and sit the same way directly in front of him. “I feel in my bones that that’s not going to happen. I have never wanted anything more in my entire life, and that… that’s saying something.” He tugs gently on your hands, pulling you forward to sit in his lap. You go willingly, wrapping your legs behind his back and your arms around his neck.

He leans in and kisses you sweetly. Your eyes shut and you allow yourself to just feel. He is soft and smells of sandalwood and something that is just pure Josh. You feel the warmth, the static, the tingling throughout your body, and the buzzing against your lips.  Your heart feels full, and you smile against his lips before he pulls away, continuing just above a whisper, “I said I wanted you, mind, body, and soul, and I meant it. I want to be your soulmate. So please, Can I keep you?”

Your heart starts beating a million miles an hour and your stomach does a million flips all at once. This is it. This will seal the deal; seal your fates together. You will be his and he will be yours. No longer will you feel the deep, negative effects when apart. Your souls will recognize the connection and help heal each other and help keep each other balanced. How is this not everything you have ever wanted?

“My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest here. Please, say something,” he begs.

“Josh Dun,” you mutter, but get louder as you break into a huge grin, “you gotta be out of your mind to think that I would say anything other than ‘hell frickin’ yes’ to that.” His eyebrows lift in excited surprise and his tongue poking through his teeth. You are quick to continue before he can react further, lifting one finger into the air, “But on one condition, of course,” you say as you lean back, smirking.

“Anything.”

“I get to keep you too.”

“Oh my god, yes. YES!” He leans in and seals his lips to yours. Pure joy is bubbling over and neither of you can stop the laughter from coming out. Your hands fly into his hair and you both break out into giggles, teeth clacking as you continue to press against each other’s lips, peppering each other with quick kisses over and over.

There are no fireworks, no glittery magic that wraps around and lifts you up, and no sudden swell of music from an orchestra, _‘what is this, a Disney movie?’,_ but there is calm. Your soul is happy, contented, and serene, and it spreads a warm feeling of peace and tranquility between you both and you feel… complete.  

“I meant what I said earlier, by the way,” he says, still smiling widely. You tilt your head, silently asking him to explain. “I am, without a doubt, one hundred percent in love with you,” he finishes, eyes twinkling and a look of adoration on his face.   

“I have never loved anyone more than I love you, Josh,” you answer, reaching up to cup his cheek. He closes his eyes as he leans in to the touch, humming in content. He turns to kiss your palm before leaning in again and kissing you softly, sweetly.

He pulls back, but keeps your foreheads together and whispers, “I love you.”

You feel the butterflies flair up again before you whisper back, “I love you, too.”

Suddenly you’re both giggling again, and the giggling gives way to laughter before you're both lying on your backs, side by side, trying to stifle the laughing fits so you can talk. You’re both just so, so deeply happy.

He reaches over and laces his fingers with yours. You feel a new zing pulse through you as you think, _’hmm, guess that part stays’_ , “So, what happens now?” he asks.

“Well, you’re still on tour, so you’ll be doing that and I can come and see you in certain cities when I can.”

“What about when tour is over? Will you come stay out here with me?” You roll over onto your side and tuck your hand under your cheek. He does the same but laces his fingers back together with yours as soon as he settles. Always touching.

“That is most definitely a possibility, but let’s just get through this tour first, and then work those details out when it gets closer. In the meantime, I’ll concentrate on when I can come visit you and look into transferring my job out here to LA. How’s that sound?”

“That sounds perfect,” he says as he leans over to kiss the tip of your nose.

Suddenly the sound of an incoming skype call fills the air. Josh glances over at his laptop, back at you, then over to his clock. With a look of confusion, he says, “What in the world is he doing calling at this time of night. It’s near 3 am where he is,” he says as he sits up and lunges for his laptop.

He sits up, laptop sitting on top of his crossed legs and clicks the button ‘Answer With Video’. He sees Tyler’s tired, but happy face pop up onto the screen, and when Tyler finally sees Josh, he breaks into a wide smile.  
  
“Hey, buddy! What’s goin’ on?” Tyler greets.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” he answers back with a happy smile.

“I just had a few questions for you about…”

“Dude, it’s like, 3 am there. Normally I would ask what you’re still doing awake, but, it is you I’m talking about, here,” he says with a chuckle and a wide smile.

“Dude, I don’t wanna sound rude, but you seem… different. Happier. Dare I say it, chipper. What changed since yesterday?” Tyler questions, happy his friend is feeling better, but more than a little concerned.

“Well, Tyler, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend…” He smiles and reaches for you off camera. You crawl on all fours over behind him and slowly raise your head over his shoulder. All Tyler can see is the top of the hood of your onesie peaking over Josh’s shoulder, giving you the appearance of cat ears.

“Oh my gosh, is that…”

You finally finish popping your head up over his shoulder, resting your cheek against Josh’s. Tyler can finally see you clearly and you wave at the camera.

“Hey, you!!”

***

The next morning, before you wake up, Josh sends out the following tweet:

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think?
> 
> Also, if you want to feel what the buzzing/tingling sort of feels like, there is this chapstick called Lip Freak (sold at Ulta) that gets pretty close to the feeling. [Link here](http://www.ulta.com/lip-freak-buzzing-lip-balm?productId=xlsImpprod13301003#)


End file.
